Removing the outer seams/gutters ?

[roysten10]

My outer seams or gutters are quit rusty and i am not to keen to replace them. Would they cause any structural problems if removed and replaced with a weld seam ?

Thanks

Roy

[Dell Boy]

You will get very wet getting in & out of the van when its raining & your seats will get wet when the door is open. A surprising amount of water comes off the roof & is diverted away by the gutter.

Derek.

[beefy]

lots of people de-seam minis it make the shell a hell of a lot stronger, so why not!
yes you will get wet if you dont put something above the door shuts, but it'll look different...

[mcalvert39]

Are you sure about that beefy?
If you remove a welded seam the panels fall apart, its what holds them together. De-seaming on minis is a difficult job to do proplerly as once the seam is removed the panels have to be rejoined another way without making it look daft. I deffinatly wouldnt say it makes it stronger.

As for the vans well doesnt the roof gutter seam hold the roof panel on?

[>>CHOP<<]

the seam is cut off...the join is welded ground flat and filled and painted over..its quite popular looks great...only trouble is when you need to replace a panel

[beefy]

yep, very sure.
the trick is to de-seam say 6" at a time and stagger it. (do every other 6" all along the seam, then go back and do the bits you left) this help to stop distortion and stops the panels from pulling away from each other.
two pieces of metal folded and spot welded together are alot weaker than two pieces butted together and fully "butt welded" as long as you have full fusion (penetration) it then becomes one "fused" piece of metal. cant get stronger than that.

[roysten10]

I think it would look quit cool. there is some other body work that needs attention first tho, i am not going to start until it warms up lol. brrr 

[beefy]

i dont blame you, ive just done the waterpump, cambelt and thermostat on my new aquisition,,,,
and guess what.... it snowed! luckily shes under cover but i want to drive it now, but dare not go out in the white stuff

here if you need advice on weldings, its my job

[>>CHOP<<]

i need you beefy...come weld my new arches on ...?

[beefy]

sorry bud, im not portable, all my kit is big...
i dont do vehicles as a rule as i dont have any parking whatsoever at my workshop, but a rascal fits (just!)....
never had to do a rascal (yet), email me some pic, and i'll have a think

where are you?

[>>CHOP<<]

Its ok...i was just joking...im a million miles away from you....yorkshire

[beefy]

ah i see,
need to do i lil bit of welding on mine soon,
its had new arches put on, not too badly but welding is a lil rough.
not too happy about strut caps either, nothing too bad but something to improve on.
thinking about tidying the underside, has anyone tried flipping one of these vans on its side to weld? 

[>>CHOP<<]

unconventional....but try it and let us know..?

[Dell Boy]

Theres no need to flip it to weld any areas. All areas that rust can be done from above or by going in from the sides.
I cut out the whole rusted area back to sound metal & lip or butt weld shaped repair pieces back in building up the various layers starting with the farthest in first & work outwards.
I do the towing eye by standing in the pit & working upwards. This is the only awkward bit.
 To bring a Rascarry up to a decent state of repair is generally from £100.00 up to about £300.00 plus the cost of front arches if required.
I am doing a particularly bad Danbury for myself at the moment. Most people would have scrapped it but it can be saved without too much heartache & given a new lease of life.


Derek.